A new study shows that eating ultra-processed food on a regular basis might increase your risk of colon cancer. In the study, published in The BMJ, researchers assessed the dietary intake of over 46,000 men and almost 160,000 women with no cancer at the start of the study and followed them for 24 to 28 years. Over 3,200 of them developed colorectal cancer during that time. Men in the highest fifth of consumption of these ultra-processed foods had a 29 percent higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, compared to those who ate little of these foods. Women who specifically ate the most ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat dishes, like pizza, canned soup, and French fries, had a higher risk. For men, the groups who ate the most meat-based ready-to-eat products, like bacon, sausage and hot dogs, or who drank the most sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages, like soft drinks, low-calorie soft drinks, and fruit punch, had the highest risk of colorectal cancer.
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